Arabidella a diminutive of 'arabis' which is a Greek word for mustard or cress. Trisecta from the Latin 'treis' meaning three and 'sectus' meaning divided, referring to the three-divided leaves.

Distribution:

Found across much of South Australia except on the Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the South-east, growing in a variety of habitats in disurbed areas, especially on loam, clay or rocky soils. Also found in all mainland states.

Status:

Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.

Plant description:

Erect woody perennial shrub to 60 cm tall; bright green in appearance. Leaves bi- or trisected to 4 cm long with linear segments. Flowers are white or yellow on a long spike. Flowering between June and October.

Fruit type:

Long brown cylindrical pods on a long spike.

Seed type:

Small yellow semi-flat reniform seeds to 1.2 mm long and 0.7 mm wide.

Embryo type:

Bent.

Seed collecting:

Collect pods that are maturing, drying off and turning brown, with yellow seeds inside.

Seed cleaning:

Place the pods in a tray and cover with paper to prevent seeds from popping out and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the pods gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place.

Seed viability:

From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%.

Seed germination:

This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

Seeds stored:

Location

No. of seeds(weight grams)

Numberof plants

Datecollected

Collection numberCollection location

Datestored

% Viability

Storagetemperature

BGA MSB

10800 (2.06 g)10800 (2.06 g)

15

28-Aug-2008

DJD1148Lake Eyre

20-Jul-2009

100%

-18°C

Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.